Erik Satie

​

Erik Satie was one of classical music’s great characters.  To say he was an unusual man would be an understatement.  However, he lived and worked in one of the most flourishing artistic times in France in the late 19th early 20th centuries.  His great musical contemporaries included Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel.  He rubbed shoulders with other ground-breaking artists such as the Impressionist painters (Monet, Manet et al) and the cubist painter Pablo Picasso.  He collaborated with some of the greatest producers, writers and dancers – names including Jean Cocteau and Serge Diaghilev.

He was a minimalist at heart. He rejected conformity and anything leading to excess. He wrote many miniatures for piano that have become justly famous – especially the Three Gymnopedies.   His naming conventions were often bizarre, including Three Pieces in the Shape of a Pear and Flabby Preludes for a Dog. 
 

Gnossiennes

The six Gnossiennes have nothing to do with Greek history and the great ancient city of Knossos. However perhaps they do evoke a sense of ancient ruins framed in stillness and nostalgia. While I love all six of these pieces, my favourite is the quirky 6th Gnossienne. With its odd shifting and chromatic harmonies, its short phases, and the jaunty theme that emerges three times in three different keys to break the melancholy.  It has it all for me!